The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eske

 Hana Babic is The Quiet Librarian in this historical fiction offering from Allen Eskens hitting shelves on February 18, 2025. Being a librarian in Farmington, Minnesota is a refuge for Hana who was born Nura Divjak and became a teenager in the mountains of Bosnia during war there in the 1990s.

Hana does her best to bury the memories of what happened to her family during the war and other atrocities but the recent murder of her best friend Amina Junuzovic has flooded her with feelings and memories she has tried so hard to push away. She suspects the killing of her friend is tied to Nura’s actions as the deadly Night Mora, a fierce warrior. Nura is still “wanted” in Bosnia.

From there the story takes place on two timelines that are interwoven until they lead the reader back to the present. David Claypool, the detective with the St. Paul Police, has brought the news to Hana about Amina’s murder and her request that in the event something happened to her that Hana raise her grandson, Dylan. This announcement sends Hana back to Bosnia in her mind where she recalls her life as a teenager who survived the Bosnian War, first a victim of it and then a soldier fighting in it.

Claypool’s news and the facts she wheedles out of him lead her to the conclusion that Amina was only a stepping-stone to the hunt for Nura, the Night Mora. Hana becomes a soldier once again as she plots to  protect Dylan and find Amina’s killer before he comes for them.

Allen Eskens developed this novel about Hana/Nura, Amina, and the Bosnian War after listening to Bosnian refugees in his community who told their stories of survival during the war and of making their homes in Minnesota. Eskens, an award-winning author, first found success with his best-selling novel The Life We Bury (2014), a book club and reader favorite. He and his wife live in greater Minnesota.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting August 27, 2024.

I would like to thank Mulholland Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

 

 

 

 

To Die For by David Baldacci

 
To Die For is the third David Baldacci novel featuring Travis Devine, “the 6:20 Man,” set to hit the shelves on November 12. A former Army Ranger, Devine is currently dodging an enemy known to him as Girl on the Train who has been after him ever since he escaped her knife on a train in Switzerland.

 
He will stay off the GOTT’s radar as he is being sent to the Pacific Northwest to assist the FBI’s Special Agent Ellen Saxby with a12-year-old girl being held in protective custody by the government. He suspects he was chosen for this job because the girl’s uncle, who is under investigation for racketeering, was known to him from their military time in Iraq.
 
Devine’s first task is to escort orphaned Betsy Odom to a meeting with the uncle she has never met, Danny Glass. At the same time, Devine is investigating the apparent drug deaths of Betsy’s parents—people who Betsy has never known to go near drugs. When Devine interviews the coroner, he finds the doctor’s report has been altered by the police. 
 
As Devine digs in, he learns that what he is up against is a conspiracy that could threaten the whole country. How an orphaned girl and an uncle she has never met figure into this means Devine is going to have to enlarge his team, with two unusual allies as well as his handler in Homeland Security.
 
David Baldacci has published nearly 50 novels for grownups since his first book Absolute Power in 1996. A Virginia native, Baldacci and his wife Michelle co-founded the Wish You Well Foundation that works to increase literacy in the United States.
 
My review will be posted on Goodreads starting August 15, 2024.
 
I would like to thank Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hatchette Book Group, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.